April 11, 2013

Keane receives research excellence award from landscape architecture council

The Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture is recognizing Kansas State University's Tim Keane, professor of landscape architecture, with its 2013 Excellence in Research award at the senior level.

Keane was nominated unanimously by the faculty of the department of landscape architecture and regional and community planning. He was recognized at the council's recent 2013 meeting.

The council presents two awards for Excellence in Research and/or Creative Works annually, with one nominee at the junior level -- three to 10 years teaching experience -- and one for senior educators -- 10 or more years of experience. The award is given for outstanding, innovative and noteworthy research and creative works.

Keane is not only being recognized for his research, but also for his leadership in research, said Stephanie Rolley, head of the department of landscape architecture and regional and community planning.

"Dr. Keane's work is innovative in its collaboration with other disciplines, as well as noteworthy in its engagement with professional practice," Rolley said. "His work is valuable to all whose lives and livelihoods are impacted by water in the landscape.

"Most importantly, Tim brings research alive in the classroom. He is a wonderful model for future scholars as well as future practitioners who will be able to advance our profession through working with researchers," she said. "His impact is recognized regularly by alumni who respond to college surveys asking who or what had the most significant impact on their education."

Keane has been engaged in 12 funded studies totaling more than $3.6 million either as primary or co-investigator since 2005. He also was the primary adviser to the college's first doctoral candidate and has provided leadership in development of the environmental design and planning doctoral program.

As a leader in research in the College of Architecture, Planning and Design, Keane was selected to represent the college on the university's 2025 Research Themes Committee. The committee was responsible for identifying important themes of research that support the university's goal of becoming recognized as a Top 50 public research university.

Keane's "Multi-Variate Study of Stormwater BMPs" project is an excellent example of one of his collaborations with practitioners that will advance the profession of landscape architecture, according to Rolley. The project received an American Society of Landscape Architects Honor Award in 2010 and was funded by the Green Building Research Fund. Keane established the protocol for monitoring and provided scientific analysis of the findings.

One of Keane's more recent research projects is holistic ranching surveying on a 23,000-acre farm in Wyoming. He began his studies a year and a half ago, measuring the fluvial systems within the ranch and hopes to use the data he gathers to improve long-term prairie health and sustainability so farms and ranches may be run at a lower cost and higher efficiency.

A Kansas State University faculty member since 1984, Keane has a bachelor's in landscape architecture from Iowa State University, and a master's and doctorate, both in landscape architecture, from the University of Michigan.